The real Ulrich Kessler was a German Luftwaffe (air force) general whose
greatest claim to fame was that he was a passenger on U-234, a German submarine which was enroute to Japan with a cargo of radioactive material
for Japan's atomic bomb program, when she was ordered to surrender.
From the articles, sounds like the historical Kessler was quite different from the LoGH Kessler.
Three separate articles give accounts on the historical Kessler:
Luftwaffe General (General der Flieger) Ulrich
Kessler, a Prussian-born diplomat and military strategist, was originally a naval officer, but resigned his commission in 1933 and became commander
of Luftwaffe Stuka squadrons operating in Poland, Norway, and France. He was disliked by Goering and rumored to have been involved in anti-Hitler
activities, including the infamous assassination plot. Kessler was being sent to assist the Japanese in combat tactics using squadrons of ME 262
and ME 163 aircraft against Allied bombers.
...
The passenger list also included German Luftwaffe Lieutenant General Ulrich Kessler, former
commander of special bombing and attack wings based in Norway. Submarine officers may not have become familiar with him on the trip as he and they
had little in common. Kessler, with a monocle over one eye and a perpetual air of arrogance, passed his time reading books and, upon arrival in
Portsmouth, would surrender with a smart salute to the highest-ranking U.S. officer on hand. He later bragged to reporters that he'd learned how
to accept defeat in style after World War I and expected he might have to do so even a third time.
But, displaying another, more practical side, Kessler admitted during interrogation that he had intended all along to
get off the sub at Argentina -- not an unbelievable story in light of the fact that many top-ranking Germans already had fled to that South American
country.
Whether Kessler knew of the atomic cargo remains a mystery today.
Researchers find it more likely Kessler, knowing the war was about to be lost, had boarded the sub as a means of escape.
...
The 1,600-ton U-234 arrived at the lower harbor or Portsmouth at 7:30 in the morning. Key
prisoner Luftwaffe Lieutnant-General Ulrich Kessler was described as "a typical Hollywood version of a German general."
"He wore a long leather greatcoat," the WHEB evening news report continued, "which reached to his
ankles, highly polished leather boots and an Iron Cross [a Knight's Cross, actually] which hung tightly about his neck. He posed for newsreel
cameramen and seemed to be enjoying the publicity he was receiving. He was
tall and wore white gloves."
In LoGH, Ulrich Kessler was a fleet commander, and later on became commander of the Imperial Army Military Police.
Review of Germany's Last Mission to Japan: The Failed Voyage of
U-234
http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/genocide/reviewsw54.htm
Stories about Vance
http://www.capecod.net/~jbetters/Vance/nazisub.htm
20th Century - The German Subs at Portsmouth Yard
http://www.seacoastnh.com/20th/uboat.html
Researcher: Hank Wong
kessler.htm / October 08, 2000